This invention relates to a monitoring system to confirm the presence of an individual at a particular site at one or more pre-determined particular times during a day.
In today's society where an individual such as a child must assume individual responsibility for safe arrival and presence at a particular location such as his home without the company or supervision of another such as a parent, it is most important that the well-being of that individual who is alone be known, or, conversely, that any adverse conditions affecting that individual be discovered as soon as is reasonably possible. In addition, pre-set times can be used by handicapped and elderly persons to indicate that medication must be taken, that medical equipment is working properly, and that the protected person is safe and well.
Various systems have been developed which speak toward the monitoring of activity or lack of activity of individuals at particular sites. One such system, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,243, incorporated herein by reference, provides for automatic notification of a remote central monitoring station if an activity sensor at a subscriber's location has not been activated for a pre-set period of time (e.g. 24 hours). Such "activity sensors" can include a re-set switch means integral with the system as well as other sensing devices such as door switch sensors, telephone handset lifting sensors, television power on/off sensors, or the like. In any event, the activation of any one of these sensors will cause the pre-set period of time to start over, without establishing a specific time each day when the well-being of the individual can be confirmed. Instead, the system only monitors or confirms the fact that some sensed activity, which may be a passive event, occurred at the individual's location during the preceding pre-set time period. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,368, incorporated herein by reference, describes an emergency alarm and response system wherein an alarm to a central station is activated by a timer if no activity occurs during a selected timed period. Certain activity such as use of a telephone by the monitored individual resets the timer and the selected time period for inactivity starts over. Therefore, no pre-determined specific time of day can be chosen for confirmation of well-being of the monitored individual.
The present invention provides a monitoring system which can confirm the presence or absence of an individual at a specific site at a specific time of day by required selective manual activity of that individual at such specific time and site. Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a monitoring system wherein a monitored individual's presence or absence at a specific site can be confirmed remotely therefrom at a specific time of day. It is another object of the invention to provide a monitoring system which can confirm such presence or absence at a plurality of times per day. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a monitoring system wherein the time of day for such monitoring can be changed only by an authorized individual. Another object of the invention is to provide a monitoring system which additionally notifies a need for emergency assistance. These and other objects of the invention will become apparent throughout the following description.